Fitness Tips

Our Fitness Guru Reveals His Motivation Secrets

When I had a crappy job, I was more likely to hit the liquor store than the gym after a rough day of listening to the sniveling of a boss with a double-digit IQ.

We asked our fitness expert James Fell to inspire us by sharing some of his own secrets.

Motivation to exercise is a struggle for many, what with couches, big screen TVs, bed, work and more bed. Still, some of us find the time. Some of us kick our own asses out the door to work out.Some of us are good at developing secret tips and tricks and even playing mind games with ourselves to push ourselves not just to go work out, but to do it harder and longer than we really want to.I’ve got a few personal tips I’d like to share. Here are some that have served me well:

Just get dressed. I’ll be hammering away on the computer or suffering inertia on the couch and not really want go for a run, but if I take just a few minutes to get changed into the appropriate gear, then that run is going to happen. Eventually. It may take an hour of staring at those dorky and not terribly comfortable running socks on my feet, but once they’re on, the shoes are going to follow and I’ll be out the door.

Do it first thing. The day piles stress upon stress that gives you excuses not to work out. When I had a crappy job, I was more likely to hit the liquor store than the gym after a rough day of listening to the sniveling of a boss with a double-digit IQ. First thing in the morning, the day has not yet provided you with any excuses not to work out, and research shows that morning exercisers have the highest adherence rates.

Go when it’s busy. Now I know some people hate crowded gyms, but I find there is a kind of energy you can feed off of. When it’s a little crowded and there are a lot of people around you working hard (especially if some of them are nice to look at), then there is an added motivation to push.

Put it in your calendar. I used to lift weights at lunch time and actually had a calendar reminder to help prevent people from booking me for lunch meetings. It also helped skipping out on the high-calorie lunch and forced me to bring something healthy from home instead.

Go outside. When you’re on a stationary bike or a treadmill, you can hit “stop” at any time. Go outside to run or ride, and not only will you enjoy it more, but you only have to be motivated for the first half. Once you decide to turn around, you need to get back home somehow.